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Rescuing Prisoners in Mamook: Guide by Eleri
Intro What are prisoners? Ever wanted a quick, free trip to Jeuno and found that Shihu-Danhu, the warp taru, is missing? Ever tried to use the auction house, only to find the NPCs there crying for their manager? Ever searched for hours for the NPC that sells most of the Corsair die, but been unable to find him? If you're reading this page at all, I'm going to assume that you know what Besieged is. There are 15 NPCs in Al Zahbi that can be captured as prisoners during Besieged and taken to the enemy stronghold. If they are lost, their services, no matter how miniscule, will be unavailable. Also, every NPC has a corresponding temporary item that is granted to every player at the start of Besieged if he or she is present in the city. Who are they? Why should I rescue them? Some prisoners are simply a matter of convenience, such as the Chocobo renter or the warp taru. Others are seemingly useless merchants, although they are important to some--miners need pickaxes, which are only sold by a capturable NPC, and Corsairs must rely on stockpiled and overpriced die on the Auction House if their NPC is missing. Most importantly, though, are the Serpent Generals. The Astral Candescence cannot be taken by the beastmen if there is a single General left standing, as if there is even one General's seal left on the door to the Hall of Binding, it cannot be breached. If a General falls in Besieged, however, he or she has about a 50% chance of being captured and will not be available for future invasions until he is rescued. A player also stands to benefit from rescuing prisoners; there is a generous reward of Imperial Standing when a prisoner is set free, and if an NPC's rescuer talks to the free prisoner when the prisoner reaches Al Zahbi, they will receive a ??? Item for Appraisal. How do I do it? Each of the three near eastern beastman strongholds has space for 24 prisoners. Each requires a particular key for the doors, but the doors may also all be picked by a Thief using lock-picking items (Thief's Tools, Living Keys, or Skeleton Keys). To state it simply, the cells must be found and opened. The NPC will then thank his or her rescuer and disappear, to appear back in Al Zahbi after a period of travel time. There are some considerations to keep in mind if you intend to set off rescuing prisoners. *If you intend to farm the area-specific keys, you need to be sure you're able to handle farming from at least the level 73-75 tier beastmen--sometimes higher--who are often in areas with other linking mobs. If you avoid links, the key mobs can potentially be duoed quickly by an Utsusemi-wielding DD and a healer. *If you intend to use a Thief's lock-picking ability, keep in mind the Thief's level, which affects picking ability, and have a plan for what to do if the Thief triggers a trap--weakness induced from a failed lockpicking can last for quite a while, and the only way to get rid of it is either to be KOed and Raised normally or to wait out the weakness. See Picking your Coffers and Chests for more information about lockpicking and its associated risks. (For reference, at level 60, the author of this guide had an extremely unlucky string of three failed pickings and six traps before finally succeeding in unlocking Zazarg's cage in Mamook, but also opened several cages on the first try.) *Unless you plan to fight your way through everything, you absolutely must have the ability to mask yourself from sight and sound aggro. Consider using White Mage or Red Mage subjobs if you aren't tanking, or bring a healthy supply of Silent Oil and Prism Powder or Shinobi-Tabi for Tonko. Also, while on the subject of stealth: Potentially the most important thing about rescuing prisoners is the ability to avoid aggro from true-sight and true-sound mobs. Remember their names and know where they are. *You or a Raise-capable party member should keep reraise up at all times; there are true-sight and true-sound enemies in some zones, and general mistakes do happen. *It is reported that the beastmen can take a maximum of 24 prisoners (8 at a time per Besiseged). Therefore, I assume there are 24 cells per beastman stronghold. However, I do not currently know where they all are. I can currently only explore within my solo/duo limits for the time being, which blocks some areas from my research. I can currently account for 21 cells in Arrapago Reef and 14 cells in Mamook. Please assist with this guide by contributing unknown cell positions in the discussion page. Mamook